Herbal Abstracts

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Chen LC, Wang BR, Chou YC, Tien JH. Drug utilization pattern of

CHMs in a general hospital in Taiwan. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf.

2005 Sep;14(9):651-7. Dept of Pharmacy, Taipei Veterans General

Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. PURPOSE: Drug utilization studies are

important for the optimization of drug therapy and have received a great

attention in recent years. Most of the information on drug use patterns

has been derived from studies in modern Western medicines; however,

studies regarding the drug utilization of traditional Chinese medicine

(CM) are few. The present study was the first clinical research to

evaluate the drug utilization patterns of CHMs in a general hospital in

Taiwan. METHODS: Data were collected prospectively from the

patients attending the TCM Center of Taipei Veteran General Hospital

under CM drug treatments. The study was carried out over a period of 1

year, from January 2002 to December 2002. Core drug use indicators,

such as the average number of drugs per prescriptions, the dosing

frequency of prescriptions, and the most common prescribed CM herbs

and formulae were evaluated. The primary diagnosis and the CM drugs

prescribed for were also revealed. All data were analyzed by descriptive

statistics. RESULTS: A total of 10 737 patients, representing 52 255

CM drugs, were screened during the study period. Regarding the

prescriptions, the average number of drugs per prescription was 4.87

and 37.21% of prescriptions were composed by five drugs. Most of

prescriptions (91.38%) were prescribed for three times a day. The most

often prescribed Chinese herb was Honghua (5.76%) and the most

common Chinese herbal formula was Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San (3.80%).

The most frequent main diagnosis was insomnia (15.58%), followed by

menopause (5.22%) and constipation (5.09%). CONCLUSION: The

survey revealed the drug use pattern of CMs in a general hospital. The

majority of CM prescriptions were composed by 3-6 drugs and often

prescribed for three times a day. Generally, the rational drug uses of

CM drugs were provided with respect to the various diagnoses. © 2005

John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 15786515 [PubMed - indexed for

MEDLINE]

 

Kung YY, Chen YC, Hwang SJ, Chen TJ, Chen FP. The prescriptions

frequencies and patterns of CHM for allergic rhinitis in Taiwan. Allergy.

2006 Nov;61(11):1316-8. Center for Traditional Medicine, Taipei

Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Background: The evaluation

of Chinese herbal medicines (CHM) to allergic rhinitis (AR) by large-

scale pharmaco-epidemiological study is not ease found, although CHM

had been reported to have potential effect for AR in some clinical trials.

Aims of the study: To explore the frequency and pattern of CHM

prescriptions on AR, we have the study by analysing the population-

based CHM database in Taiwan. Methods: The way for this study was

linked and processed the complete traditional Chinese medicine

database for Taiwanese recorded in the year 2002. The diagnosis of

AR was extracted with the only single ICD-9 Code of 477 to calculate

the frequency and pattern of prescriptions. Association rule was applied

to analyse co-prescription of CHM for patients with AR. Results: In the

year 2002, among the 22 520 776 valid beneficiaries of the National

Health Insurance, Taiwan, 914 612 subjects (3.8% of the total valid

beneficiaries) have diagnosed AR. There were 35.6% of AR patients

been treated by CHM. The peak age of AR patients treated by CHM

was at the first decade (0-10). For the AR patients, Xinyi-Qingfei-Tang

was the most common Chinese herbal formula prescription, or Baizhi

(Angelica dahurica) for the single Chinese herb. While for the

combination treatments the most common prescription was the two

formulae, Xiao-Qinglong-Tang and Xinyi-San. Conclusions: Because of

the high utilization rate of the CHM treatment for AR, a large-scale

randomized trial warrants further research for its efficacy and safety.

PMID: 17002708 [PubMed - in process]

 

Lee TY, Chang HH, Chen JH, Hsueh ML, Kuo JJ. Herb medicine Yin-

Chen-Hao-Tang ameliorates hepatic fibrosis in bile duct ligation rats. J

Ethnopharmacol. 2006 Aug 5; [Epub ahead of print] Graduate Institute

of Traditional , Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan,

Taiwan, ROC. The accumulation of hydrophilic bile acids in the liver is

considered to play a pivotal role in the induction of hepatic injury. Yin-

Chen-Hao-Tang (YCHT) decoction is an aqueous extract from three

different herbs: Artemisia capillaries Thunb (Compositae), Gardenia

jasminoides Ellis (Rubiaceae), Rheum officinale Baill (Polygonaceae),

which has been recognized as a hepatoprotective agent for various

types of liver diseases. Therefore, we used an experimental of biliary

atresia model to test that YCHT plays a regulatory role in the

pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis. Hepatic damage with fibrosis was

produced by common bile duct ligation (BDL) for 27 days in

experimental cholestasis animal model. After surgery, YCHT (250 and

500mg/kg BW) oral administration once a day continued for 27 days.

BDL caused a prominent liver collagen deposition that was supported

by the increased alpha-SMA protein and mRNA expression of

procollagen I. YCHT significantly decreased hepatic alpha-SMA protein

levels and decreased in hydroxyproline and thiobarbituric acid reactive

substances (TBARS) levels of BDL rats. On the other hand, the

normalizing effect of YCHT (250mg/kg) on the TGF-beta1mRNA

expression was independent on the dose of YCHT, 500mg/kg was not

effectively changed the quantitative composition of mRNA levels. The

study shows that hepatic hydroxyproline accumulation caused by

hydrophilic bile acids accompanied by elevated hepatic lipid

peroxidation, and hepatic collagen levels can be decreased in the

presence of YCHT. In conclusion, long-term administration of YCHT in

rats ameliorated the hydropholic bile acids induced hepatic injury that

probably related to a reduced oxidant stress and degree of hepatic

fibrosis. PMID: 16989967 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

Anon. Cranberry and urinary tract infections: slightly fewer episodes in

young women, but watch out for interactions. Prescrire Int. 2006

Aug;15(84):145-6. (1) Female urinary tract infections are common and

often recurrent. Food supplements based on cranberries are said to

prevent recurrent urinary tract infections. (2) Two randomised controlled

trials involving a total of about 300 young women showed that daily use

of cranberry juice or tablets reduced the relapse rate for acute cystitis:

on average, treating 100 women for one year prevented at least 1

urinary tract infection in 15 to 33 women. The daily doses were 7.5 g of

concentrate in 50 ml of water, 750 ml of juice, or two tablets of

concentrate. (3) In elderly patients, 2 trials of cranberry-based products

in hospitals or nursing homes showed a small reduction in the

frequency of relapses. (4) Adverse effects appear to be negligible.

However, several case reports of interactions with warfarin have been

published, including one involving severe bleeding. Patients on vitamin

K antagonists must be warned about this risk of interactions so that they

avoid consuming cranberry-based products without medical

supervision. PMID: 16989032 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Jepson RG, Mihaljevic L, Craig J. Cranberries for preventing urinary

tract infections. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004;(2):CD001321.

Department of General Practice, Edinburgh University, 20 West

Richmond Street, Edinburgh, UK, EH8 9DX. BACKGROUND:

Cranberries (particularly in the form of cranberry juice) have been used

widely for several decades for the prevention and treatment of urinary

tract infections (UTIs). The aim of this review is to assess the

effectiveness of cranberries in preventing such infections.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of cranberry juice and other

cranberry products in preventing UTIs in susceptible populations.

SEARCH STRATEGY: Electronic databases and the Internet were

searched using English and non English language terms; companies

involved with the promotion and distribution of cranberry preparations

were contacted; reference lists of review articles and relevant trials were

searched. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL -

the Cochrane Library, issue 1, 2003) was searched in February 2003.

SELECTION CRITERIA: All randomised or quasi randomised controlled

trials of cranberry juice/products for the prevention of urinary tract

infections in susceptible populations. Trials of men, women or children

were included. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers

independently assessed and extracted information. Information was

collected on methods, participants, interventions and outcomes (urinary

tract infections (symptomatic and asymptomatic), side effects and

adherence to therapy). RR were calculated where appropriate,

otherwise a narrative synthesis was undertaken. Quality was assessed

using the Cochrane criteria. MAIN RESULTS: Seven trials met the

inclusion criteria (four cross-over, three parallel group). The

effectiveness of cranberry juice (or cranberry-lingonberry juice) versus

placebo juice or water was evaluated in six trials, and the effectiveness

of cranberries tablets versus placebo was evaluated in two trials (one

study evaluated both juice and tablets). In two good quality RCTs,

cranberry products significantly reduced the incidence of UTIs at twelve

months (RR 0.61 95% CI:0.40 to 0.91) compared with placebo/control

in women. One trial gave 7.5 g cranberry concentrate daily (in 50 ml),

the other gave 1:30 concentrate given either in 250 ml juice or in tablet

form. There was no significant difference in the incidence of UTIs

between cranberry juice versus cranberry capsules (RR 1.11 95%

CI:0.49 to 2.50). Five trials were not included in the meta-analyses due

to methodological flaws or lack of available data. However, only one

reported a significant result for the outcome of symptomatic UTIs. Side

effects were common in all trials, and dropouts/withdrawals in several of

the trials were high. REVIEWERS' CONCLUSIONS: There is some

evidence from two good quality RCTs that cranberry juice may

decrease the number of symptomatic UTIs over a 12 month period in

women. If it is effective for other groups such as children and elderly

men and women is not clear. The large number of dropouts/withdrawals

from some of the trials indicates that cranberry juice may not be

acceptable over long periods of time. In addition it is not clear what is

the optimum dosage or method of administration (e.g. juice or tablets).

Further properly designed trials with relevant outcomes are needed.

PMID: 15106157 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Best regards,